This invention relates to a method and apparatus for deriving a health index which is used to determine cardiovascular health of a subject, particularly but not exclusively of a human subject.
There have been proposed methods which provide a scoring or charting system to determine an indication of a patient's health. Such a scoring or charting system might be able to provide general health information of a patient or user but is unable to provide specific health information. Further, such a scoring system requires the information to be interpreted by a health care practitioner and without which the information would not be understood by the patient. In addition, the scoring systems require at least one manual parameter input, such as a visual interpretation of the patient's level of consciousness, before an indication of the patient's health is obtained. In such systems, the input parameter is subject to the health practitioner's interpretation and can therefore be unreliable or inconsistent.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for deriving a health index for determining cardiovascular health which alleviates at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art and/or to provide the public with a useful choice.